A Conversation with Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Dr. James Miller

Posted by Young Professionals in Foreign Policy on

Please note: this event is being rescheduled. Please check our Washington Events calendar for more information about upcoming events.

Join YPFP and the Atlantic Council for an evening with former U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Dr. James Miller.

Dr. Miller will be joined by YPFP Chairman and Founder Joshua Marcuse for a discussion on the most pressing modern defense challenges facing the international community and the future of technology in security.

Important logistical information:

This event will be off the record. RSVPs will close when this event reaches capacity, and no later than 12:00 noon on March 11, 2016 as space is limited. Check-in will begin at 6:00 pm on the 15th. Please arrive by 6:15 to allow time before the 6:30 program begins.

Biography:

Dr. James N. Miller is President of Adaptive Strategies, LLC, which provides consulting on the future security environment, technology trends, and international engagement. He is a senior fellow at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Lab, and at Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He serves on the Board of Directors for The Atlantic Council, and on the Board of Advisors for the Center for a New American Security and for Endgame, Inc. Dr. Miller is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and the Defense Science Board.

As Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from May 2012 to January 2014, Dr. Miller served as the principal civilian advisor to Secretaries Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel on strategy, policy, and operations, and as DoD’s Deputy for National Security Council policymaking and crisis management. He led a 2,000-person organization that included six other Senate-confirmed officials and three defense agencies, spearheading major human capital initiatives. Dr. Miller worked to strengthen relations with allies and partners in Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, and to reduce the risks of miscommunication with Russia and China. For his accomplishments as Under Secretary, he was twice awarded the Department of Defense’s highest civilian award, the Medal for Distinguished Public Service, by Secretaries Panetta and Hagel.

Dr. Miller served as Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, from April 2009 to May 2012. He guided the Quadrennial Defense Review, Nuclear Posture Review, and Ballistic Missile Defense Review, and advanced major efforts to reform antiquated U.S. export controls and make U.S. security assistance more agile. He was twice awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service by Secretary Robert Gates, for his key role in negotiating and securing Senate ratification of the New START Treaty, and for his leadership in developing new national defense strategies for space and cyberspace.

Dr. Miller served previously in government from 1997 to 2000 as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Requirements, Plans and Counterproliferation Policy under Secretary William Cohen, and from 1988 to1992 as senior professional staff member for the House Armed Services Committee where he worked for Chairman Les Aspin. Previous positions outside government include serving as Senior Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security from 2007 to 2009; Vice President and then Senior Vice President at Hicks and Associates, Inc. from 2001 to 2007; and Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Duke University from 1992 to 1997.

Dr. Miller served as Chairman of the National Security Strategies and Policies Expert Working Group of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States (2008- 2009); Advisor to the Combating WMD Panel of DoD’s Threat Reduction Advisory Committee (2005-2008); and Advisor to the Defense Science Board on Challenges to Military Operations (2007). He was selected in a nation-wide competition as an Atlantic Fellow in Public Policy in 1995, and spent 1995-1996 as a Senior Associate Member at St. Antony’s College, Oxford.

Dr. Miller received a B.A. degree with honors in economics from Stanford University, where he played varsity tennis. He earned Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is married to the former Adele Balk; they have five children and live in Arlington, Virginia.